Aerospace industry 'at its worst'

VETERAN aerospace executive Phil Condit, the boss of Boeing, put a damper on the first full day of the Farnborough Air Show by saying the industry is in its worst-ever slump.

Speaking at Britain's biennial showcase for the aeronautical industry, Condit said: 'The post-Gulf War period saw a 2% decline in revenue passenger kilometres [the industry standard for calculating traffic numbers], compared with a current drop of 13% to 14%.' That, said Condit, equates to 'the worst decline the aviation industry has ever seen'.

The world's largest planemaker has already pegged back this year's production line to delivering 380 commercial aircraft, with that set to fall to between 275 and 300 in 2003. Last year it delivered 527 jets and Condit said he saw little evidence of a return from the slump.

There was little evidence at the show to contradict Condit. Dutch airline KLM confirmed an order for two Boeing 777s, taking its total recent orders to 10 of the extended range, wide-body jetliners. There was talk that KLM was due to announce the order of six A330s from European manufacturer Airbus, Boeing's arch-rival.

Industry insiders expect an announcement this week from easyJet over whether it has chosen Boeing or Airbus for an order of at least 80 new aircraft to underpin its expansion through its takeover of rival budget airline Go.